Investigators say worker died from electrocution in Cedar Falls

Investigators now know what caused the death of a worker at a northeast Iowa construction site last week. A state medical examiner has ruled that Chris Turney died of electrocution. The 24-year-old Des Moines man collapsed last Wednesday while working at a Hy-Vee store under construction at College Square Mall in Cedar Falls.

Turney was employed by Kline Electric of Ankeny, which was hired to install electrical wiring at the new store. Investigators say Turney was standing on metal scaffolding, working with electrical wires at the time of the mishap. Initially, Hy-Vee representatives said the accident didn’t appear to be work related but an autopsy later revealed the cause of the death.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration is trying to determine how the accident happened. The probe is expected to take several weeks to complete.